Lyterian
by Rylitah
Summary: With over fifty Vocaloids in existence, it's an absolute impossibility for Master to spend time with them all equally - especially with plans for a new one coming soon. He rarely spends time with any of them anymore, and they're feeling more than a little restless at the lack of communication. "But that's okay; we love you anyway." / All Vocaloids included, all yandere. Oneshot.


_Lyterian - Indicating the end of a disease._

_A/N - Many thank yous to **vanatines** and **a certain 'pigion' **__for beta-reading and fixing my mistakes. This would have been a lot worse without you two!_

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><p>All things considered, it simply wasn't <em>possible<em> to pay the exact same amount of attention to every single one of them, every single day.

That wasn't to say he hadn't _tried,_ however_._ Tried, tried, _tried_ his _hardest_ to love _every single one of his children_, because he really _did_ love them. He loved them all equally, despite the amount of time he spent away from them.

But it wasn't enough, it seemed.

The first instance he heard of the plan was when he was tucking in the children one night. Little Yuki whispered softly into his ear just after he had finished fluffing her pillow and raised the blanket over her –

"I think you should take a break."

He laughed softly, shaking his head and waving his hand dismissively. "I can't do that, Yuki. I'm too busy – you see, you're all getting a new sister soon. Her name is Ruby."

"That's a pretty name," Yuki mused, but she surprisingly didn't seem very interested otherwise. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong but she shook her head, cutting him off before he could even make a sound.

"Never mind. Just be careful, okay?" She said and smiled innocently, yet he couldn't help but feel the twinge of doubt that sparked in his gut.

No matter – she was programmed to have the mind of a nine year old child. Children had overactive imaginations.

Though even Ryuto seemed more alert than he usually was despite the late hour. He didn't say anything, but Master could feel his eyes trained on him even as he finished bidding the rest of the children a good night's sleep – even as he left the door and closed it behind him after making sure that they were all comfortable and hooked up to their chargers.

Master sighed and looked up just in time to see another one of his children meekly hide behind the corner. While the teenaged and adult Vocaloids could certainly stay up as late as they wanted (though they would need to charge _eventually_), they all knew that it was forbidden to go near the children's room around and after bedtime, lest they risk making too much noise.

"IA."

The girl in question stepped out from her hiding place and smiled brightly. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright, is all!" She chirped.

Master blinked. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't want anything bad to happen to you," IA continued, ignoring her Master's confused inquiry. "Maybe you should spend the night with _me_!" She laughed and clasped her hands together. "It would be the best sleepover ever, don't you think?"

"No, no; I think he should stay with _me!_" Maika suddenly came into view, swinging from around the corner. "My room's pretty spacious – there's only me, Bruno, and Clara. And I think they're going out for the night, so we'd have it all to ourselves –"

"So?" IA interrupted with a frown. "I sleep alone. It's better with _me_."

The two girls narrowed their eyes at each other in a silent argument until Master coughed, catching both of their attention. "Girls," he said, raising his hands up in a placating gesture. "I'm too busy tonight anyway – I won't be able to make it to either of your… _sleepovers_. But I promise to try and make some time in my schedule for one in the future, okay?"

They spared one more moment's glance at each other before turning to face their Master, disappointment evident in their expressions. "Okay," Maika finally said with a sigh, "but I'm going to make sure you keep to that promise."

"Me too," IA smiled. For some reason, it wasn't the same smile that she had been wearing just a minute earlier – this one somehow seemed _forced_. "We won't let you forget, Master."

Shrugging it off, Master decided to change the subject. "Anyway, have either of you two seen Oliver or Rana? Or Lui and Piko, perhaps? While they aren't exactly _children_, I still need to remind them not to stay up too late—"

"They'll be fine," Maika narrowed her eyes. "And if we see them, we'll tell them for you. Right, _IA?_"

IA sighed. "Yeah."

Master stared at them for a last moment before nodding nervously. "Very well. Thank you, you two. Now,if you wouldn't mind…"

He walked past them, brushing against both of their shoulders as they barely moved to the side to allow him to pass through. Even as he continued to walk down the hall and out of their sight, he could still feel their stares boring into his back even as he knew that they weren't following him. It was unnerving, but as he never had that uneasy feeling with them before, he decided it was mostly just a side effect of hard work and lack of sleep.

It didn't make him feel any better.

As he walked, he passed by various other rooms and more children within – Rin, Len, Anon, and Kanon in the video game lounge; Leon, Tonio, Meiko, and Lola placing bets on blackjack; Gakupo telling old legends to Lapis, Ring, and Lui –

—and a certain child of his sprawled almost haphazardly across a table with an open book dangerously teetering on the edge of his lap.

Master _really_ needed to get back to Ruby, but he couldn't necessarily just _leave_ the other there, could he?

He sighed fondly and walked inside. A quick glance around proved that no one else was in the room with them, so he took the opportunity to grab the teacher as best as he could get a grip on him and carried him over to the nearest couch. Gently,he removed the glasses from his face and placed them on top of the book that he had been reading.

Kiyoteru continued to sleep, unaware;Master would have to send for someone else to bring him up to his room so he could charge properly later.

"Master!" Miki and Kaito suddenly popped inside, scaring the man as he spun on his heel and quickly pressed a finger to his lips. "We saw you come here and we wanted to see if you – oh?"

They finally seemed to notice the unconscious teacher, and began to speak in hushed voices.

"What are you doing in here?" Kaito asked.

"Helping Kiyoteru not regret falling asleep in here in the morning," Master answered easily. "What did you two want?"

Miki stared at Kiyoteru with an odd expression on her face before turning back to her Master, her voice low. "Nothing. It's not _too_ important."

"Are you su-?"

"Positive," Kaito interrupted. "Hey, Master – are _you_ going to carry Sensei to his room?" The feeling that he had gotten from IA and Maika earlier was starting to come back, and he couldn't for the life of himself figure out _why_.

"No," Master answered,crossing his arms. "I was thinking about asking for someone else to do that, as I'm busy - and while you're here, how about you two do it?"

There was a shuffle of movement, and all three people turned to look at the one lying on the couch.

"Mmh**..**. Master?" Kiyoteru opened his eyes and blinked blearily, squinting at the dizziness that welcomed him upon his return to consciousness. "That _is_ your voice, right?"

"Don't worry, Master," Miki said with a smile, moving next to her brother and laying a gentle hand on his chest. Kiyoteru made a confused face. "We'll take _good_ care of him. Right, Kaito?"

Kaito nodded eagerly. "Right! So just go on your way, Master; we'll ask you again some other time – really soon." He moved over to behind the teacher and placed firm hands on the other's shoulders. Kiyoteru still looked confused, but realization soon dawned on him and he smiled faintly.

"If you say so," Master frowned. What was wrong with his children tonight?

He left the room quickly, but not before hearing Miki's voice drawl, "So, _Kiyoteru_, you remember our whole deal, right~?"

Master had no idea what she was talking about.

He walked briskly**,** ignoring the calls and gestures the rest of his children made as he sped past them. There was no time; he was beginning to think horrible thoughts about all of them, and it didn't make _sense. _Nothing changed, nothing was different, so why - ?

His thoughts were interrupted and he let out a noise of frustration as the hallway turned black.

Every noise and sound was suddenly muted as if a button was pressed. Even the chatter of his children had gone completely silent, and for the first time in a decade, Master felt as if he were _alone_.

It was unsettling.

"Hello?" He called out. "Can someone turn on the backup generator? The children are already asleep; they can't charge like this –"

—_and I can't work on Ruby in the midst of a power outage –_

"Master?" A feminine voice – _way too close_ – spoke softly to his right, and he flinched away.

"See U?"

"Yes. Please follow me."

He felt the Korean girl grab his wrist to lead him down the hallway. Shamed as he was to admit it, he didn't know his own house nearly as well as his children – he mostly kept himself up in the basement far below, only coming up for food or when the adult Vocaloids were too busy to tuck in the children, such as before. He wasn't exactly sure where he was being led; hopefully somewhere a backup generator was located…

_Crunch._

Master blinked, and he was nearly about to ask what the sound was when suddenly See U's grip on his wrist became limp, and fell away. There was a _thud_, and he took a step back. "See U? What's-?"

"See U's sleeping right now," Nekomura Iroha wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself close to his back. "Come with _me,_ Master – I'll show you the way."

"Show me where?" He couldn't stop the tremble in his voice. His children were acting too strange, and he didn't understand what was going on. "What happened to See U?"

Before the kittyler could answer his question, a shadow burst forth from around a corner and shoved her into the opposite wall. "Don't touch him!"

"L-Lily…?"

Iroha growled, using the wall as leverage to push herself onto the blonde. The two girls fell to the floor noisily, clawing and scratching as they screeched at each other.

"Girls, stop!" Master moved in to intervene, intent on figuring out just _what the hell was going on_, when a strong grip on his upper arm made itself known, firm enough to keep him in place.

"Leave them be," Bruno's voice had a hint of mirth in it, as if he found the _cat_fight between the two girls before him amusing. "They're in a hard place right now. Come on, Master – _I'll_ take you to where you need to go."

"No." Master forced himself out of the Spaniard's hold and glared up at him – glared at what he could see of him in the darkness, at any rate. "You are going to explain to me what is happening _right now_ –"

"You don't see it yet, Master?" Clara stepped out from behind Bruno's shadow, tapping her slender fingers against her brother's arm. "We're just trying to help you. We _love_ you; just let us show it."

"Where's See U?"

"She's right here." Bruno kicked the blonde's prone body in Master's direction. As his eyes finally became adjusted to the dark, he could see that she was lying in a rather odd position, her arms splayed about and hair messily covering her face. "Leave her alone; she isn't doing anything right now, anyway."

"Master, Master!" Rin and Len's voices, synchronized together, rang from the end of the hallway. "Follow us! We'll get you out of here!"

"Not on my watch," Bruno growled. "Keep him here, Clara. I'll take care of them."

"Got it."

Clara detached herself from Bruno and immediately latched herself onto Master, who stumbled backwards and tripped over Lily and Iroha. They fell to the ground, and Master took the opportunity to detangle himself from the mess of flailing limbs and make a run for it – but in the opposite direction of the Kagamine twins.

"Master, wait!"

"Where are you going?!"

He ignored their loud protests and continued to run. That feeling of dread earlier wasn't just a feeling anymore – it had been realized that there was something _wrong_ with his children.

_A bug? _He wondered. _How can they all malfunction simultaneously?_

The problem, however, was the fact that he didn't _know_ what the problem even was. They seemed to have become overly attached to them, though how long that behavior had been going on he couldn't say for certain. If he weren't so _busy_, he would have noticed the problem sooner and could have put a stop to it before it had accelerated –

"Master!" Miku popped out from behind a couch, raising her arms in a gesture similar to that of a child wanting to be picked up. "What's the rush?"

"I can't talk right now, Miku," Master nearly stumbled over his own two feet – was _Miku_ infected, too? "I need to get to the lab."

The lab. His sanctuary.

Access was forbidden to every single Vocaloid, and only Master knew how to get in and out. If he could make it there, he would finally be alone (along with Ruby, who he realized he needed to triple check over her current progress to make sure nothing wrong had happened with her as well) – and _safe_.

He**'**d never thought he'd had to someday run away from his own children.

"But Master!" Miku protested, jumping out halfway from behind the couch and only managing to land on her stomach. "I –_ oof_ – haven't seen you in so long! Won't you stay behind just a bit?"

"I'm sorry, Miku."

He tried to tell himself that the tears that welled up in his most famous daughter's eyes weren't _real_, weren't _genuine_ -it was the virus, as he briskly walked away. Forcing himself to tune out the sounds of her fading weeping, he continued to move, evading suspicious shadows against darker shadows and sudden movements.

In order to fit every single Vocaloid in one house (as Master was not very fond of the idea of sending them off to different places), it needed to be _large_. The laboratory was the same as the basement, located far below – the farthest place from the children's floor. They had gotten the highest floor of the building so they could be as close to the stars as they possibly could.

He was beginning to regret that decision.

His walk eventually turned into a run, and then into an all-out sprint. Breathing heavily as he wasn't used to exerting much energy in a single session, he moved as fast as he could, evading the various calls coming from behind him. He still hadn't run into another –

"Master!"

Master made a noise of surprise as he nearly crashed straight into Yohio; behind him stood the ZOLA trio and Kokone, shuffling their feet about nervously. His distraction was quickly taken advantage of as each and every one of his children starting filing in, crowding the already cramped hallway.

"Go away!" He heard Meiko's voice shout, and he heard Sonika yelp as she was pushed into what sounded like Cul.

Somewhere in the mass, Rion called out, "Master, can you see me? I'm right here!"

"Shut up!"

There was a smack, and Master could only assume that Prima had smacked her to the floor. The other Vocaloids paid the scene no mind, as they quickly filled the gap she left, trampling over her small body.

"Master," Ring smiled, pushing herself up to the front. He tried to move away as she moved closer, but she grabbed his arms and painfully held him still – he didn't remember giving her so much strength. "We just want to ask you a simple question."

"Ring," Master breathed, and looked around. "All of you. Let me go this instant."

"It's just a question!" Rin shouted.

"Just a question," Len agreed.

"It'll only take about three seconds to answer honestly," Anon and Kanon said simultaneously.

Ring laughed softly. "And _honestly_ is the key word here. Don't lie to us, okay? This is something we've been wondering for a long while. It's been a long time since we've last seen you, Master. We were worried that you've gotten bored of us. But then you came out of that lab, and we were so happy… but now you want to go back. All we want to know is—"

"—which one of us do you love the _most_?" Galaco finished.

Master swallowed. "I love you all the same –"

"I said don't _lie_!" Ring's grip increased tenfold, and Master barely contained his grunt of pain. They remained that way for just a moment longer before her fingers finally relaxed, but still kept a grip firm enough to keep him still.

"Answer the question honestly," Yuzuki Yukari called. Next to her, Lui – Master had never gotten the chance to give him a voice; he would indefinitely remain silent – nodded.

There was a subtle murmur among the rest of the Vocaloids, though Master could pick out Mizki's and Yuuma's over the rest: "Should we do it now?"

"No, give him one more chance."

"Do _what_ now?" Master growled. "Let go of me – I have actual work to do rather than play twenty questions."

"Silly!" Avanna laughed. "This isn't twenty questions, it's _one_ question. Which you already lied about, so you get one more chance."

"Answer honestly," Merli called.

Master bit his lip, pondering over his answer before finally speaking out once more. "You want my answer? The honest answer – _exactly_ how I feel?"

They all seemed to lean in closer, hanging on to his every word.

"The truth is that I love _none_ of you right now," he growled. "This is ridiculous, and I will no longer follow along. All of you will be undergoing a temporary reboot first thing tomorrow – and I'm going to find the root of this problem."

His children were all silent before Flower spoke up. "What the hell kind of answer is _that_?!"

"I agree," Aoki murmured. "That isn't satisfactory at all – no, sir."

Yan He jerked her thumb downwards. "We'll _make_ you choose."

"It has to be one of us," Gumi whispered, leaning in close.

Master was more than done with all of them.

He forced Ring off of him and pushed her onto the nearest Vocaloid – Sweet Ann didn't stumble much, but it had definitely taken the rest of them by surprise at his sudden aggression. Master quickly got to his feet and started pushing past all of them – Tonio, Luo, Macne Nana, and Zunko were unlucky enough to be in his path and they were roughly shoved into the others.

He stumbled once the moment he was out of that suffocating crowd, but the feeling of hands and arms reaching grabbing at his feet and clothes was enough to spur him onwards and he broke out into a full-on sprint, intent on just getting to safety.

"Master, wait!" He could hear Miriam's voice shout just behind him, but he forced himself to keep going. He didn't want to look back – didn't want to see just _what_ had taken over his children he loved so much.

He ran for what felt like eternity, dashing down various flights of stairs and zipping through hallways – all while the screams and shouts of his beloved children trailed not far behind him.

The lab was _so close_; he was _almost there_ –

His hand slammed into the reader and he nearly panicked as it took a moment for it to register his prints before the door finally opened. He ran inside and immediately slammed it shut, just as Luka, Mew, and Chika made a lunge for him.

The soundproof lab blocked any and all noises they were undoubtedly making out there, and he breathed heavily, pressing his back against the door. He slid down until he touched the ground and rubbed his fingers over his face – he was sweating and was completely out of breath, and his heart hurt –

—hurt for all of his children, all of whom somehow managed to contract some _virus_ that messed with their nerves.

"I can't believe this," he muttered to himself, noting how weary his own voice sounded. "What am I going to do…?"

"You can start by actually _loving_ us, like you told us you would."

He jerked at the familiar voice and looked up to see Mayu smiling down sweetly at him her light, long hair wavering as she tilted her head innocently. "What's wrong, Master? You seem frightened."

"Y-you…" He was nearly at a loss for words. "How did you…"

"I took out the power," she giggled. "You'd be amazed how easy getting into a place like this is when there's no electricity to back up your security."

It was only then that Master realized he was still in the dark.

"We all love you so, _so_ much," Mayu whispered sweetly, leaning down to gently trace her fingers along the shape of his jaw. "But you don't even _look_ at us anymore. It's always your newest project; we've become such wonderful things, and you don't even give us the time of day."

Her grip tightened on his chin, and she forced him to look into her eyes. "That's why we decided… we weren't going to deal with it anymore. Having fans is nice, but they mean nothing when the one person you love won't return your affections."

Something soft pressed into his hand – _familiar_. "Mayu… you didn't…" His fingers gently thread through the silky locks of hair.

"She's really pretty," Mayu breathed. "Ruby, I mean. Or… should I say _was_?"

He couldn't bring himself to look down.

"Don't worry, Master. We aren't angry. In fact…" She raised her arm, and he knew what was coming. Of course he did – he _programmed_ this personality as part of her, as a want for something new and different. He just didn't think it would be his end.

"… I believe everyone will be glad to hear the wonderful news that from now on, you'll be spending an _infinite_ amount more time with us."

* * *

><p>"Ah, Mayu did all the work," Yuki pouted, holding her head in her hands as she kicked her legs in the air. "I wanted to do something."<p>

"You warned him, and that was enough," Ling smiled down at her, licking at a popsicle. Behind the two, Lorra simply nodded her head. "It's not your fault he chose not to listen."

"Don't talk about Master as if he's not here!" Ryuto cried, cradling the finger close to his body protectively. "They don't really _mean_ that, Master – don't worry."

Yuki continued to huff. "All that and we just got his _finger?_ I wanted his _head!_"

"I think Mayu kept that for herself," Kiyoteru mused, walking into the room. Miki and Yukari followed directly behind him, holding the rest of their former Master's arm in their hands together. "I guess it makes sense, but I have to say that I'm kind of jealous…"

Miki laughed loudly and clapped the teacher on the back, sending him stumbling forward. "You complain too much, Kiyo! We got _something_, you kept up your end of the deal, and we're all happy."

"I guess…"

"Deal?" Ling raised an eyebrow. "What deal?"

Kiyoteru pointedly looked away, so Miki gladly filled in for him. "He wanted to be one of the last ones to see Master alive, so he pretended to fall asleep in the lounge so that Master would be forced to tend to him – we kept away until then. In return, he wouldn't complain about what part of Master's body he got."

"I didn't get anything!" He frowned.

"Oh, don't worry," Yukari giggled. "We can share."

Lorra rolled her eyes as Kiyoteru abashedly murmured a small, "really?"

See U then chose that moment to walk in – her head was a bit lopsided from where Iroha had attempted to smash her mechanical skull in, but she was otherwise fine. "IA and Maika are really happy," she announced with a smile. "They finally got that sleepover they kept going on about."

"Sleepover?" Yuki jumped up excitedly. "I want a sleepover!"

"Lucky you," Miki laughed at the sight. "We've got all the time in the world for sleepovers now. Right, Master?" She cradled the arm and rocked it gently.

"We have all the time in the world…"


End file.
